TV VIEW; NEW SHOWS FOR CHILDREN: SHOULD WE EXPECT MORE

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You might just as well watch ''Ewoks: The Battle for Endor,'' the ABC movie at 8 o'clock tonight, and, judging from past experience, it is possible, even likely, that you will. ''The Ewok Adventure'' was ABC's highest rated film last year. The new television movie is not a sequel to the first, but its executive producer is also George Lucas and it also has Ewoks in abundance. Ewoks, of course, are the large Teddy bears in monk's cowls first seen in Lucasfilm's ''Return of the Jedi,'' and the nice thing about them is that they are almost totally benign. Nonetheless, there's no denying that benignity has its limits, especially on prime-time television, and tonight's appearance by the Ewoks is different than the one they made last year. This time, the Ewoks are ''action oriented.''

Say immediately that this doesn't mean the Ewoks now practice rude and aggressive behavior. They do not. Moreover, they are still warm and cuddly. But as Thomas G. Smith, the producer, says in a publicity release, last year's film ''had a strong acceptance among young children,'' while teen-agers and some adults ''found it a little lacking in excitement.'' The new Ewok television movie is ''closer to the kinds of films that we at Lucasfilm have been working on all these years.''

Therefore, we get a battle or two, laser-beam weapons, a wicked simian-looking king, a creature called Teek (who looks a little like a billygoat and is altogether appealing) and a large number of Lucasfilm special effects. Mr. Lucas and his colleagues are famous for their special effects, and ever since the 1977 ''Star Wars'' they have been altering the technology of films. Indeed, the technology is the thing, and a television viewer or moviegoer can recognize a Lucas production even without the credits. Meanwhile, grant that Mr. Lucas's works may have epic themes - battles between good and evil, loosely speaking - but the actual stories are almost incidental. In ''Ewoks: The Battle for Endor,'' the story almost vanishes. A little girl (Aubree Miller) and an Ewok meet a lovable old hermit (Wilford Brimley) in the forest, and together they lead a raid on the wicked king.

Should we expect more? Mr. Lucas and his colleagues invest some of their creations with enormous charm; perhaps that's all we should expect. On the other hand, one wishes they'd sometimes take a flier. ''Dune'' was hugely popular as a science-fiction novel by Frank Herbert. As a feature-length movie, now being shown on HBO, it is a turgid, murky lump. What would Mr. Lucas and his colleagues have done with Mr. Herbert's book? Better yet, what would they do with Kenneth Grahame's ''Wind in the Willows,'' C. S. Lewis's ''Chronicles of Narnia,'' or J. R. R. Tolkien's ''Lord of the Rings''? The characters in all of them are people, animals and fantastic or whimsical creatures. Similar characters inhabit the world of Lucasfilms now.

Coincidentally, WNEW-TV is showing ''The Hobbit,'' an animated film based on the Tolkien work, next Friday. The film, originally shown in movie theaters, is not very good. Meanwhile, CBS is rebroadcasting the 1973 ''A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving'' on Tuesday. On Friday, WNEW-TV is showing the 1973 ''Charlotte's Web.'' These two are very good. They are also animated films (cartoons, if you will) and it is likely they will be around for years. Mr. Lucas and his people do not work in animation, which, by and large, has now fallen on evil days, but they appear to be heirs to the tradition.

In fact, in the same publicity release in which Mr. Smith speaks about ''Ewoks,'' he compares Mr. Lucas to Walt Disney. Disney practically invented animation. ''Everyone knew him and knew the kinds of things he liked,'' Mr. Smith says. ''The same thing is true with George Lucas.'' Mr. Lucas, it seems, is also ''an incredible leader of creative people.''

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Therefore, one wishes Mr. Lucas would lift his sights and those of his creative people. Yes, the Ewoks are adorable; Teek is adorable, too. But Charlotte, the spider dreamt up by E. B. White, is likely to live longer and be more fondly remembered, especially by children. Toad, Mole, Badger and Rat in ''Wind in the Willows'' will live longer, too. The problem with ''Ewoks: The Battle for Endor'' isn't that it's badly done; on the contrary, it's wonderfully well done. But when it's over it's over, and there is no residue. Mr. Lucas and his colleagues find their inspiration in their own techology, and there should be other places to look.

It is also possible, even likely, that Lucasfilm finds its inspiration, at least in part, in the times we live in - the new frontier of space, for example, and all the wondrous engines that explore it. ''Ewoks'' has a spaceship lifting off at its conclusion. Walt Disney was inspired by his times, too. At a meeting of the American Psychological Association two years ago, John Murray, a psychologist who has studied children's television programming, presented a whimsical ''psychohistory'' of Mickey Mouse. Mickey, he said, was a ''product of his time - the social and economic conditions of the country - as well as the life experiences of his creator.''

This critic knows nothing of Mr. Lucas's life experiences, although the general sunniness of his creations suggests that the life experiences haven't been all twisted and sour. It would be lovely if he turned the sunniness and formidable technology to children's television by adapting children's literature. In fact, great children's literature, and even not-so-great-children's literature, hangs around because adults like it, too. A parent who doesn't read ''Narnia,'' say, or ''Wind in the Willows'' after the kids have gone to bed is a parent who isn't much interested in books, anyway.

So, watch ''Ewoks: The Battle for Endor.'' Very young children may be frightened by some of it - the wicked king, for example, ends up deep-fried - but by and large it won't do you or your children any harm. If there is charm to be found in technology, Mr. Lucas and his colleagues will find it. But how fine it would be if the next time out, they found their inspiration in a really terrific book.

A version of this review appears in print on November 24, 1985, on Page 2002029 of the National edition with the headline: TV VIEW; NEW SHOWS FOR CHILDREN: SHOULD WE EXPECT MORE. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe